Gas range construction



Nov ."-l1, 1941. J. E. LEONARD ErAL I GAS- RANGE CONSTRUCTION 2 sheets-sheet 1 FiledA Nov. 3, 1939 fa g J H f4 Nov. l1, 1941. J. E. LEONARD rs1-Al.

GASRANGE CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov; 3, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l aro mm 6605/ @c Mq ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 11, 1941 UNiTcD STATES PATENT OFFICE GAS RANGE CONSTRUCTION Joseph E. Leonard, Berkeley, and William A.

Pentecost, Oakland, Calif., assignors to Hammer-Bray` Company, Ltd., Oakland, Calif., a corporation of Nevada Application November 3, 1939, Serial No. 302,694

Claims.

The invention relates to gas cooking ranges and more particularly to the construction of the top portions of the range body.

An object of the present invention is to provide a gas cooking range of the character described wherein the cooking top of the range is movably supported on the range body to permit raising of the cooking top to afford ready access into the top gas burner compartment of the range for removal, cleaning or inspection of the burners and for cleaning out of the compartment.

Another object of the invention is to provide a. gas cooking range of the character above having foldable lift cover members overlying the cooking top and which may be quickly and readily moved from a-coplanar position over the cooking I top to a retracted folded position at the rear of the cooking top.

A further object of the invention is to provide a range of the character described wherein the lift cover for the cooking top may be retracted from the cooking top to permit raising of the cooking top without interference with the lift cover and without requiring a simultaneous raising of the lift cover.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a range of the character above wherein the cooking top and the lift cover andthe splasher back for the range are constructed as a unitary hinged assembly which may be added to or removed from the stove as a unit, and wherein the pivotal support of the cooking top and the lift cover is derived exclusively from the splasher back whereby the latter is put to a beneficial supporting use and the top supporting structure of the range body may be greatly simplified with tlie complete elimination of the usual rigid cooking top supporting frame.

The invention possesses other features of advantage, some of which with the foregoing, will be set forth in the following description of the preferred form of the invention which is illustrated in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the specification. It is to be understood, however, that variations in the showingf Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary 'sectional view of the hinge construction of the range top covers.

Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view similar to Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a hinge used in the present construction.

Figure 6 is a perspective View of a hinge used in a modified form of the construction.

Figure 7 is a vertical sectional view similar to Figure 4 but showing a modified form of the invention.

The range of the present invention consists briefly of a range body and a movable cooking top for the range body and a movable lift cover for the cooking top which are pivotally supported for separate and independent pivotal movement, whereby the lift cover may be moved to and from a position overlying the cooking top and the cooking top may be raised and lowered relative to the stove body. Of particular importance in the present design, the pivotal support for the cooking top and the lift cover is removed entirely from the stove body. The usual splasher back which normally has no beneficial supporting value insofar as the stove structure is concerned, is here utilized to provide an exclusive pivotal support for the cooking top and the lift cover. By reason of this construction the customary heavy reinforcing frame used around the top of the range body may be completely dispensed With and the supporting structure substantially simplified notwithstanding the improved features above enumerated.

With reference more particularly to the accompanying drawings, the range therein depicted in Figures 1 and 2, comprises a range body II, including end Walls I2 and I3, front and rear Walls I4 and I6 together with a bottom wall I'I supported on feet I8. The rear wall I6 is preferably terminated short of the upper ends I9 and 2| of the end walls I2 and I3 and Ymounted transversely across the space between the end walls I2 and I3 adjacent the top of the rear wall I6 is a bottom plate 22 for the top gas burner compartment 23 of the stove. A plurality of gas burners 24 may be mounted in the compartment with any desired spacing or arrangement. The stove body including the several stove walls aforementioned, in combination with the various interior walls used for forming the oven and broiler compartments, etc., provides a sturdy, rigid stove body construction.

To the stove structure aforementioned we add a unitary hinged assembly, including a splasher back 26, a cooking top 21 for the range body and a lift cover 28 for the cooking top. The splasher back is of generally elongated form and is secured adjacent its opposite ends 29 and 3l to the end walls I I and I3 by means of upright braces 32, so as to dispose the splasher back generally horizontally across the rear of the stove body adjacent to the upper ends I 9 and 2I of the end walls. The cooking top is here formed of a rectangular plate of metal fashioned with a plurality of openings 33 which overlie and register with the burners 24. Preferably, the cooking top is provided with a peripheral depending flange 34 which ts over and around the upper ends I9 and 2l of the end walls and rests upon the upper edge 36 of the front wall I4. The lift cover 28 is here composed of a pair of sections 31 and 38 which are disposed across the front and rear portions of the cooking top and which are hinged together at their abutting transverse sides 39 and 4I (see Figure 3) to permit folding of the sections into a back-to-back position at the rear of the cooking top. In'order to facilitate the handling of the lift cover sections in their movement to and from a folded position, the opposite ends of the forward section 31 are indented to provide hand grips 4D, as shown in Figure 2, which may be readily engaged by the user to lift and move the forward cover section.

In both forms of the invention the cooking top and the lift cover are each pivotally connected to the splasher back and rely for their pivotal support exclusively on the splasher back. Means for pivotally connecting these members is arranged to provide separate and independent y movement of the cooking top and the lift cover so that in the normal use of the stove the lift cover sections may be easily and readily moved to and from a position overlying .the cooking top and when desired to open the cooking top, the lift cover sections may be retracted to permit easy raising of the cooking top without interference with the lift covers, or the lift covers and the cooking top may be raised together as a unit. The hinge means best illustrated in Figures 4 and 5 of the drawing includes a pair of double-jointed hinges 42 having three pivotally attached. leaves or sections 43, 44 and 46. As here shown, the intermediate leaf or section 44 is fastened directly to the splasher back, as by means of stove bolts 41 at a position disposing the lower hinge pivot 48 in substantially coplanar position with the upper surface of the cooking top and the lower hinge leaf or section 46 is secured to rear depending flange 34 of the cooking top as by means of stove bolts 49, whereby the latter may be raised at its forward edge and swung upwardly about the pivotal joint 48. The upper hinge leaf or section 43 is extended through an opening 5Ir in a rear depending flange 52 of the cover section 38 and is secured to a reenforcing plate 53 on the under side of the section 38 as by means of screws 54. The length of the intermediate hinge section 44 between the lower pivotal joint 48 and the upper pivotal joint 56 for the cover section 38 is preferably such as to position the upper hinge section 43 in substantially horizontal position in the lowered position of the lift cover. Preferably, the hinge leaf 44 is set into a hinge depression or recess 51 formed in the splasher back so as to enable a close fitting of the rear flanges 34 and 52 of the cooking top and lift cover against the splasher back with the anges in vertically aligned position, whereby a neat close tting structure isobtained. Also,4 preferably,

the splasher back is offset, as at 58, above the pivotal joint 56 so as to receive the cover section 38 when .raised to an elevated position, thereby allowing a substantially full retraction of the cover sections to the rear of the cooking top.

Preferably, resilient means is provided for assisting the raising and lowering of the cover sections and as here shown, a pair of rearwardly extending arms 59 are fixed to the rear cover section and extend through slots 6I in the splasher back and are connected at their outer ends 62 by a spring 63 anchored at its lower end to the rear wall of the stove. The arms 59 are preferably formed entirely separate from the hinges but may be secured as here shown to the reinforcing plates 53 at the under-side of the rear cover section.

A modied form of the invention is illustrated in Figures 6 and 1, wherein the cooking top 21 and the lift cover 28 are pivoted to the splasher back 26 about coincident axes by means of a hinge 64 having a plurality of leaves or sections 66, 61, 68 and 69 mounted on av common hinge pin 1|. The section 68 is here connected to the splasher back 26,Ythe sections 66 and 69 are connected to the cooking top, while section 61 is connected to the lift cover. To effect this joint pivotal arrangement of the several parts about a single axis, the position of the axis relative to the several parts must be carefully selected. As here shown, the hinge is mounted so as to dispose the pivotal pin 1I in substantially the plane of the top surface of the cooking top, whereby the cooking top will pivot around an axis adjacent its upper rear edge while the lift cover will pivot about an axis adjacent its rear lower edge. Preferably the splasher back is offset, as at 58', similar to that shown in the iirstembodiment but preferably deeper, so as to completely accommodate the full depth of one of the lift cover sections.

We claim:

1. A range comprisingv a range body including end, front, and rear range walls, a splasher back secured to and supported on the end walls, a cooking top overlying said range body and hinged at its rear edge to said splasher back, and a lift cover overlying said cooking top and hinged to said splasher back, whereby said cooking top and said lift cover may be swung upwardly at their forward edges away from the range body and the cooking top respectively and during such movement are supported exclusively by said splasher back.

2. In combination with a range including end, front, and rear range walls, a unitary hinged assembly including a splasher back secured to and supported by said end walls, a cooking top overlying said walls, and a lift cover overlying said cooking top, whereby said cooking top and lift cover may be swung upwardly about their pivotal connection to the splasher back and away from the range walls and the cooking top respectively.

3. A gas range comprising a range body including end, front, and rear range walls, a splasher back xedly secured to and supported on said end walls and extending across the rear of said body, a double-jointed hinge having one section thereof secured to said splasher back, a cooking top overlying said body and secured to another of said hinge sections to permit raising and lowering of said cooking top relative to said body, and a lift cover overlying said cooking top and secured to another of said hinge sections to permit raising and lowering of said cover relative to said cooking top.

4. A gas range comprising, a range body including end, front, and rear range walls, a splasher back secured to and extending generally across the rear of the body, a cooking top overlying said body, a lift cover overlying said cooking top, and means pivotally securing said cooking top and lift cover adjacent the rear edges thereof to said splasher back and about coincident axes to permit raising and lowering of said cooking top and lift cover relative to said range body and cooking top respectively.

5. A gas range comprising, a range body including end, front, and rear range walls, a splasher back secured to and extending generally across the rear of the body, a cooking top overlying said body, a lift cover overlying said cooking top, and means pivotally securing said cooking top and lift cover adjacent the rear edges thereof to said splasher back and about coincident axes to permit raising and lowering of said cooking top and lift cover relative to said range body and cooking top respectively, said splasher back being oiset at approximately the plane of said cooking top and by a distance at least equal to the thickness of said lift cover, and said pivotal means being mounted to dispose the coincident axes of rotation of said cooking top and lift cover approximately in the plane of said cooking top.

JOSEPH E. LEONARD.

WILLIAM A. PENTECOST. 

